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COURTESY HONOLULU POLICE DEPARTMENT
Samuel Michael David Jones
An Oahu grand jury Friday indicted Samuel Jones, 25, for second-degree murder and first-degree arson in connection with the death of his 21-year-old girlfriend, who was found dead in a burned-up car Monday in the parking lot at Mililani High School.
A passerby allegedly noticed Jones walking away from the burning vehicle, took photos of him and notified police. Responding officers found Laau Jordan Laulusa dead in the vehicle. She had multiple lacerations and puncture wounds, and Jones was allegedly carrying a “bladed-type weapon.”
Jones, a 25-year-old specialist in the U.S. Army Reserve, was arrested a short while later about a quarter-mile away.
“We thank the alert citizens who were near the high school and noticed something was wrong,” said Prosecuting Attorney Steve Alm in a news release. “The information they provided was key to the arrest and indictment, the first steps toward holding the defendant accountable.”
Jones is being held at Oahu Community Correctional Center in lieu of $1 million bail.
The second-degree murder charge carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole. First-degree arson is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
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